Reversible material reducing mill

ABSTRACT

A reversible hammer mill for reducing material, such as metallic objects, in a recycling process, wherein the mill rotor cooperates with impact sections which are adjustably supported to initially obtain a desirable close fitting and to compensate for wear, as well as respond to the momentary presence of uncrushables to open the rotor clearance and relieve the rotor of possible damage.

[451 Jan. 25, 1972 United States Patent Williams 241/1895 UX ......24l/239 ..24l/l89 X Danyluke......i..............

Oznobichine..................::

m m 0 F 349 666 wow Mud 500 235 377 00 -4 333 G N I C U D E R L A I R E T A M E L B I S mt VL EH RM 4 h [72] Inventor: Robert M. Williams, Ladue, Mo.

- t Prima Examiner-Donald G. Kell 73 A1ee.C her&Pul C.l .St. Y I 1 SS gn 22 Verne: 0 m Lows Attorney-Gravely, Lieder & Woodruff [57] ABSTRACT A reversible hammer mill for reducing material, such as metal lic objects, in a recycling process, wherein the mill rotor [22] Filed: Sept. 24, 1968 Appl. No.:

cooperates with impact sections which are adjustably supported to initially obtain a desirable close fitting and to compensate for wear, as well as respond to the momentary presence of uncrushables to open the rotor clearance and relieve the rotor of possible damage.

94 mmw /3 M 2& 9 835 1 9 U m 4 19 mmfi in WW4. m l mwh "-c "H a m& L m m m wm k UMF m m 555 [.ll.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,962,233 Chryst ....24 l/23 9 REVERSIBLE MATERIAL REDUCING MILL The invention pertains to improvements in material reducing mills having reversible hammer rotors and more particularly to improvements in the provision of impactor blocks and the mountings therefor.

A serious problem encountered with hammer mills is the damage that can be caused by the presence of tramp metal and uncrushable material, and the damage is done very quickly if the undesirable material reaches the rotor.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a crushing chamber of a hammer mill with breaker bars that are yieldably mounted so as to open automatically and allow the uncrushable and tramp substances to pass through without doing any material damage to the rotor.

Another primary object of this invention is to provide a mill of the above type in which the breaker bars are adjustable as to rotor clearance and are also interchangeable and reversible to achieve improved economies in commercial use.

Other objects are to provide a reversible material reducing mill that has components and parts of improved character, all as will be set forth in the following description of a preferred mill having a casing provided with a material feed inlet, a crushing chamber enclosing a rotor and including casing sections that can be swung open to expose adjustably and pivotally mounted impact bar sections, and an outlet free of the usual grate bars so that oversized material, as well as uncrushables, will pass through and be subject to sorting procedures outside the crushing chamber.

The preferred form of the present invention is shown in the drawings, wherein;

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view of a material reducing mill showing a system for handling and recycling material;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the mill, embodying the improvements of the invention, the view being taken at line 22 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken at line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1 the system includes a base on which the reducing mill 11 is mounted. The mill has its rotor shaft 12 mounted in a suitable bearing 13, and a reversible drive motor 14 is connected to the shaft by a flexible coupling 15. The base 10 is provided with a material outlet conveyor 16 which carries the output to a suitable drum magnet 17 that collects the discharge and delivers it to a transfer conveyor 18. The discharge from conveyor 18 is carried by a belt conveyor 19 to suitable densifler apparatus 20 where the acceptable material is separated by a drum magnet 20a onto a conveyor 21, while the too large material is carried by conveyor 22 to the primary feed conveyor 23 by which incoming material and the material to be recycled is carried to the top of the feed chute 24 where it falls by gravity into the mill 11.

As is seen best in FIGS. 2 and 3, the mill 11 includes a suitable casing of heavy gauge sheet stock and plates having an inlet chute 25 with a flange 26 by which a connection is made with the feed chute 24. The inlet chute 25 is formed with mar ginal flanges 27 and 28 along parting lines with adjacent pivoted covers 29 and 30 respectively. Each cover has a cooperating flange 31 and 32 and the normal closed position of covers 29 and 30 and chute 25 is maintained by suitable bolts 33. In addition, the inlet chute 25 is connected to the covers at vertical flanges 34 and 35 by bolts 36 and 37. The interior of the inlet chute 25 is provided with wear plates 38.

The covers 29 and 30 are supported on a base structure 40 of the mill 11 by pivot pins 41 being engaged in the knuckles 42, some of which are carried by the base 40 and others by the covers. Each cover is thereby hinged so it may pivot about the pin 41 and cover 29 is shown in broken outline in open position which is possible after removing bolts 33 between flanges 27 and 31 and bolts 34.

The movement of each of the covers 29 and 30 is obtained in like manner by a suitable pressure fluid motor having its cylinder 43 pivoted in a clevis bracket 44 on the base 40 and its rod 45 is pivoted to another clevis bracket 46 connected to a flange 47 on the adjacent sidewall 48. One cover at a time is moved to open position, and the other cover is used to support the inlet chute 25. It is necessary to open one or the other of the covers to gain access to the hammer rotor assembly 50 carried on shaft 12. Hammer 51 when in running position describing a hammer circle shown by the phantom line 52.

Each cover 29 and 31D operatively supports impactor bars 53 arranged in multiples in each cover (FIG. 3). Each bar 53 has a preshaped impactor face 54 backed by a rib 55. A plurality of identical bars 53 in each cover 29' or 30 are mounted at shaft openings 56 upon pivot shafts 57, and the ends of the shafts are operatively supported in bearing bosses 58 (FIG. 2) in the cover sidewalls 48. Each impactor bar 53 has an opening 59 at its opposite end, and the rib 55 thereof is formed with pin openings 60 symmetrically arranged with respect to the end openings 56 and 59, and also with respect to the preshaped impactor face 54.

In FIGS. 2 and 3 the impactor bars 53 are connected at the openings 56 in the upper ends by shafts 57 to the respective covers, and they are also connected by shafts 61 positioned in certain aligned openings 60. The ends of the shafts 61 extend outwardly of the casing walls 48 through suitable slots and are engaged in the eyes 62 of the eye bolts 63 at each end. The eye bolts 63 (FIG. 2) are connected to thrust plates 64 by adjustment nuts 65 so that yieldable springs 66 will hold the eyes 62 in a desired position to determine the spacing of the impactor face 54 from the hammer circle 52. The springs 66 can be more or less compressed by adjusting the nuts 65 and by the use of shims 67 between the respective eyes 62 and the lower end of the flanges 47.

The mounting of the impactor bars 53 in each cover 29 and 30 so as to be pivotally adjustable about the upper shafts 57 by the eye bolts 63 engaged on the lower shafts 61 makes it possible to place the impactor faces 54 at any desired clearance with the hammer circle 52. The yieldable action of the springs 66 will allow large and uncrushable material to pass through without causing damage. Also, the foregoing features allow the elimination of the usual grate bars so that the uncrushable material can pass on into the system described in FIG. 1 and the large material can be recycled in the mill 11.

Furthermore, the impactor bars 53 are symmetrically about a transverse axis at the center of the bars between the end openings 56 and 59 formed so that they may be assembled with either end up and at either side of the rotor on shafts 57 at either opening 56 or 59, or they may be interchanged between covers 29 and 30. Thus the interchangeable character of the impactor bars 53 and the reversibility of motor 14 will extend the useful life thereof and allow full use of the configuration of the impactor faces 54. As was pointed out before, the spring mounting of impactors 53 and the pivoted assembly of hammers 51 in a mill without the usual grate allows the large chunks of material and uncrushables to pass through without damaging the rotor. This assembly avoids the need for the usual close running tolerance of hammers and cage bars, but does allow control over the size of the product by the hammer circle clearance selection. Full access to the interior of the mill l1 and to the impactor bars 53 is pro vided by pivoting the respective covers 29 and 30 to open positions about hinge shafts 41 by the fluid pressure motors 43.

Referring to FIG. 1, the usefulness of the system and the mill is illustrated in connection with the reduction of automobiles which must be disposed of at the rate of several million each year. The automobiles are usually cut up by suitable preshear means 23a and the chunks placed on the conveyor 23 where they are moved into the feed chute 24. The chunks pass the curtains C where they fall into the inlet 25 and approaches the hammer circle 52 from above. The hammers engage the falling chunks and begin the reduction process against the impactor bars 53. The product output below the rotor shaft 12 does not have to pass grate openings but falls onto the conveyor 16 and is moved to other conveyors l8 and 19 that delivers the product to the densifier 20. Here the acceptable size chunks are collected on conveyor 21, and the larger chunks are sorted onto conveyor 22 and taken back to the conveyor 23.

There has been described in the foregoing specification a preferred material reducing system and reversible material reducing mill, and it is the aim to include the same and variations thereof within the scope of the appended claims.

lclaim:

l. A material reducing hammer mill comprising a housing providing a material inlet and an outlet, a rotor operably mounted in said housing between said inlet and outlet, hammers pivotally attached to said rotor and defining a hammer circle, impactor bars disposed on opposite sides of said rotor between said inlet and outlet, said bars being elongated and symmetrically formed about a transverse axis taken midway of the length thereof, and having mounting means adjacent the opposite ends so as to be interchangeable and reversible, pivot means disposed within said housing adjacent said inlet to engage and support said bars from either end mounting means in pendant positions, and means spaced inwardly from said housing outlet and to adjustably hold said bars at a predetermined clearance with said hammer circle of said rotor.

2. The hammer mill of claim 1 wherein said adjustable holding means for said bars includes yieldable element normally holding said bars at said predetermined clearance but yielding to permit said bars to pivot about said pivot means to increase the clearance.

3. An impact material reducing mill having an inlet and outlet and including rotary hammer means describing a hammer circle between said inlet and outlet, means adjacent said inlet directing material to be reduced into said hammer circle, impact means disposed at opposite sides of said rotary hammer means and extending from adjacent said inlet to adjacent said outlet to define a space in which material is reduced, said impact means having material reducing impact faces thereon presented adjacent the hammer circle, said impact means being elongated and symmetrically formed about a transverse axis midway of the length thereof, pivot means engaged with the upper end portions of said impact means supporting the lower portion for movement toward and away from a position below the hammer circle, and adjustable retainer means engaged with said impact means below said pivot means and above the lower end portions thereof to hold said impact means in predetermined relation to the hammer circle, said impact means and rotary hammer means being open below the hammer circle.

4. The mill set forth in claim 4 wherein yieldable means cooperates with said adjustable retainer means to permit said impact means to move in a direction to increase its clearance with the hammer circle, the movement of said impact means to increase the clearance opening up the outlet of the mill.

Disclaimer 3,637,145.R0 be1=t M. Williams, Ladue, M0. REVERSIBLE MATERIAL REDUCING MILL. Patent dated J an. 25, 1971. Disclaimer filed Sept. 19, 1977, by the assignee, Williams Patent Umsher and Pulwem'zer 00., Inc. Hereby enters this disclaimer to all claims of said patent.

[Oyfioz'al Gazette Nowembw' 29, 1.977.]

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFKQE CERTIFICATE @F REUHN Patent No. 3 37 4 1; Dated Inventofls) er M. Williams It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. 2, line 40, after "symmetrically" and before I "about" insert formed" Col. 2, line 42, after "59", cancel the word formed".

Col. 4, line 20, claim 4 whould be shown to be dependent from claim, i, therefore, in line 20, after claim and before "wherein", cancel the number 4" and substitute therefor "3.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of August 1.972.

(SEAL) .Attest:

EDWARD MJLLITCHERJR. ROBERT GOTTSGHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents USCOMM'DC 503164 59 9 U5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: \959 O-356334 FORM FO-105O (10-69) UNITED STATES PATENT 01mm CERTIFICATE OF GORREQ'EWN Patent No. q 1 Dated January 25 I 1972 Inventor(s) Robert Williams It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

I Assignee should be; Williams Patent Crusher and Pulverizer Co., Inc.

Signed and sealed this 28th day of November 1972.

(3mm Attest:

EDWARD M.FLI:;TCHER,JR.

ROBERT GUTTSCHALK Hist/eating Officer Commissioner of Patents F ORM FO-1050l10-69) USCOMM-UC 60376-969 U,5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFIIC} I959 0-366-334 

1. A material reducing hammer mill comprising a housing providing a material inlet and an outlet, a rotor operably mounted in said housing between said inlet and outlet, hammers pivotally attached to said rotor and defining a hammer circle, impactor bars disposed on opposite sides of said rotor between said inlet and outlet, said bars being elongated and symmetrically formed about a transverse axis taken midway of the length thereof, and having mounting means adjacent the opposite ends so as to be interchangeable and reversible, pivot means disposed within said housing adjacent said inlet to engage and support said bars from either end mounting means in pendant positions, and means spaced inwardly from said housing outlet and to adjustably hold said bars at a predetermined clearance with said hammer circle of said rotor.
 2. The hammer mill of claim 1 wherein said adjustable holding means for said bars includes yieldable element normally holding said bars at said predetermined clearance but yielding to permit said bars to pivot about said pivot means to increase the clearance.
 3. An impact material reducing mill having an inlet and outlet and including rotary hammer means describing a hammer circle between said inlet and outlet, means adjacent said inlet directing material to be reduced into said hammer circle, impact means disposed at opposite sides of said rotary hammer means and extending from adjacent said inlet to adjacent said outlet to define a space in which material is reduced, said impact means having material reducing impact faces thereon presented adjacent the hammer circle, said impact means being elongated and symmetrically formed about a transverse axis midway of the length thereof, pivot means engaged with the upper end portions of said impact means supporting the lower portion for movement toward and away from a position below the hammer circle, and adjustable retainer means engaged with said impact means below said pivot means and above the lower end portions thereof to hold said impact means in predetermined relation to the hammer circle, said impact means and rotary hammer means being open below the hammer circle.
 4. The mill set forth in claim 4 wherein yieldable means cooperates with said adjustable retainer means to permit said impact means to move in a direction to inCrease its clearance with the hammer circle, the movement of said impact means to increase the clearance opening up the outlet of the mill. 